Blindsided
by BubblyShell22
Summary: In an encounter with Shredder, Leo is blinded by his blades. Now he must face life without his sight. With the help of Murakami, can Leo rise above his handicap, or will he continue to doubt his worth as a ninja?


Blindsided

Chapter 1: Encounter

A/N: Hey, I know I really shouldn't be starting a new story when I'm working on another one, but this bunny wouldn't leave me alone. I want to thank DonatelloNinja82 (also known as 1uvakindmom on FF) for the title to this story. You should read her story "The Lesser of Two Evils" and her other ones because they're awesome. This bunny came to me in a dream, and I thought it would make an awesome story. So, here's the first chapter.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot of the story.

Summary: In an encounter with Shredder, Leo is blinded by his blades. Now he must face life without his sight. With the help of Murakami, can Leo rise above his handicap, or will he continue to doubt his worth as a ninja?

The night was quiet as it always was. The only beings in sight were four Turtles out on the rooftops of New York City. They always patrolled the city at night and kept watch for any criminals who might be up to no good. However, tonight was a fairly quiet night, and it was nearing time for them to go home.

"Okay, guys, time to go," Leonardo said to his brothers.

"Man, this bites," Raphael complained. "Why can't there be any butts to kick?"

"Hey, look on the bright side, Raph," Michelangelo told him. "At least we'll get some free time at home."

"Yeah, I really need to start some more work on the Shellraiser," Donatello added.

Just as they were about to leave, a swarm of Foot Ninjas came out of nowhere and surrounded them.

Raph grinned. "All right!" he cheered. "Looks like I'll get to kick some butt after all!" As one of the Ninjas attacked, Raph parried it with his sais.

"Booyakasha!" Mikey cried as he twirled his nunchucks and attacked another ninja.

"Well, I guess we can all use the exercise," Don quipped as he used his bo to knock out another Ninja. "But this guy really needs to work out more."

"Guys, stay alert," Leo cautioned. There was no way they could afford to lower their guard with the Foot. Leo's katanas swung in a deadly arc as he battled with another Ninja. More kept coming, but Leo and his brothers kept taking them down until there were no more left.

"Well, that was a great workout," Raph said as he wiped sweat form his forehead. "Doesn't look like there's any more out there though."

"Think again, Turtle," a menacing, but familiar voice said. The Turtles looked up in shock as Shredder appeared suddenly.

"Dudes, it's Shredder!" Mikey yelled.

"Yeah, we figured that out on our own, shell-brain," Raph retorted.

"Enough!" Shredder growled. "I grow weary of you Turtles and your continued existence. Tonight, I will finish you once and for all!"

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before," Raph said with a fake yawn.

"You're not going to get away with this, Shredder," Leo declared. "This time, we're ready for you."

Shredder laughed. "You really think I am going to fight all four of you? No, that is not my plan for tonight. Instead, I am going to fight you, Leonardo. You are the leader and the best among your brothers. If you win, I will leave the four of you and your sensei alone, but if I win, I will destroy you, your brothers, and your sensei."

"Leo, don't do it!" Raph cried. "It's a trick!"

"Dudes, let's get out of here!" Mikey said as he started to tremble.

"The odds of you winning are pretty slim, Leo," Don surmised. "My advice would be to just not bother. Shredder is way too powerful for you."

"If your brother does not accept my challenge, you will all die," Shredder told them.

"Oh, that's great," Raph muttered.

Leo sighed. "Guys, I have no choice," he said. "I'll face Shredder, and I'll win. Then he'll have no choice but to leave us alone." Despite his brave words, Leo was scared. He knew from their last encounter that Shredder was a more skilled fighter than he and his brothers were, but he had no choice in the matter. He either had to face Shredder, or they would all die. He turned to Shredder and glared at him.

"I accept your challenge," he replied, unsheathing his katanas and taking a fighting stance.

"Good," Shredder said. "I look forward to crushing you." With a battle cry, he charged at Leo, his blades drawn. Leo dodged Shredder's attack and came back with one of his own, but Shredder saw it coming and managed to grab one of Leo's swords in mid swipe and flipped the Turtle onto his back. He brought his blade down, but Leo rolled out of the way, and Shredder missed his target, causing him to cry out in rage. He ran at Leo again, and Leo tried to sweep Shredder's legs out from under him, but his attack missed, and Shredder punched him in the stomach.

Leo gasped as Shredder's fist connected, and Shredder used that distraction to sweep Leo's legs out from under him. Before Leo could roll away, Shredder pinned him and put one of his blades to Leo's throat.

"Poor Leonardo," Shredder mocked. "You have lost. Now, tell me where your sensei is so I can finish what I started so many years ago."

Leo glared at his enemy. "No," he said. "I'll never tell you where he is."

With a cry of rage, Shredder brought his blades down and struck Leo's eyes. The blue-clad Turtle cried out and immediately put his hands over his injured eyes.

"No!" Raph cried. "Leo!" Then he let out a growl. "That's it, Shredder, you're goin' down!" With a cry, he leapt on Shredder's back and wrapped his arms around Shredder's neck, trying to bring his head back, but Shredder threw him off. Then Mikey joined the fray and tried to use his kusarigama to wrap around Shredder's legs to take him down, but Shredder grabbed the chain and pulled, sending Mikey hurtling toward him and kicked him away with his foot. Meanwhile, Don was trying to tend to Leo's wounds.

"Leo, you have to open your eyes," he begged. "I have to see what's wrong."

"Don, forget about me," Leo told him. "Go help the others." The pain was unbearable, but Leo didn't care about that at the moment.

"Leo, we have to get you home," Don replied. "You're hurt." He watched as Shredder took Raph down again. "We can't win this fight, Leo. We have to retreat." He untied Leo's mask and retied it so that the holes for his eyes were facing away so the mask could staunch the blood coming from Leo's eyes. "Just hang in there, Leo. I know what to do." He turned his attention to the battle and came toward Shredder.

"Ah, so the other one wants to face me, too," Shredder taunted. "It's too bad you won't live long enough to see your brother lose his life."

"We'll see about that," Don retorted, and with that, he pulled out some green powder and threw it in Shredder's face. Shredder began to cough, and his hands flew to his burning eyes. Don gave a signal, and the three Turtles leapt up and knocked Shredder back. They continued to attack him while he was distracted, and the fight ended when Raph leapt and delivered a roundhouse kick to Shredder's face, causing him to fall off the edge of the building. Not waiting to stick around and see if he survived, the Turtles hurried to Leo's side to take him home. Using a smoke bomb to make sure Shredder didn't see their escape, they retreated to the safety of the sewers.

When they arrived at the Lair, Splinter hurried over to them as though he'd sensed that someone was in trouble. "Leonardo!" he cried as he saw his injured son. "What happened?"

"We were out on patrol and were ambushed by Foot Ninjas," Raph answered. "We thought we'd beaten them, but then Shredder showed up. He wanted to fight Leo, and if Leo didn't accept, he was gonna kill all of us and you. He said that if Leo won, he'd leave us alone, but if Leo lost, he'd destroy us. Shredder pinned him and ordered him to tell him where you were, but Leo refused. Then Shredder cut his eyes, and we all attacked him. Don got him with blinding powder, and we pushed him off of the building and came back here."

Don laid Leo on the couch and gently took off Leo's mask. Leo winced and kept his eyes closed.

"Leo, you have to open your eyes," Don begged. "I have to check them. Mikey, get my penlight and the first aid kit."

"Got it," Mikey said and hurried to the lab to get what Don asked.

Once Don had his penlight, he gently opened Leo's right eye and shined the light to see what was wrong. "Whoa, looks like those cuts are deep," he said.

"Will he be okay?" Raph asked him.

"I don't know," Don answered. "I'll have to dilate his eyes to see if there's any damage. If the retina's detached, there's nothing that can be done." He rummaged in his toolbox and came out with some solution used to dilate the eyes. Don often used it on his brothers when he wanted to check their eyes every year.

"Man, I always hate this part," Mikey said.

Don ignored him and put two drops into each eye. "Okay, now close your eyes for twenty minutes and let that set in," he instructed.

Leo did so and wondered why this had to happen to him. How could he have been foolish enough to take that challenge? Why couldn't they have just retreated?

After twenty minutes were up, Leo opened his eyes, and Don shined the penlight into his eyes. Normally, Leo would have cringed at the harsh light, but he couldn't even see it, which alarmed him.

"Dude, he's not even blinking at the light,"Mikey commented. "Is that normal?"

"I don't think so, but maybe Leo's in shock," Raph guessed. "He did take a big hit after all."

"Guys, it's not shock," answered Don. "Leo's retinas have totally detached."

"So, what does that mean?" Raph asked him.

Don sighed and gazed at his family sadly. "Leo's blind, Raph," he said.

"Wait, he can't see?" Mikey gasped. "But you can fix it, right, Donnie? You always fix everything."

"Not this time, Mikey," replied Don. "Once the retina detaches from the eye, the vision is permanently lost."

"That's it?!" Raph shouted. "That's all you're gonna say, huh? C'mon, Donnie, you're a freakin' genius! You have to find a way to fix this!"

"There is no way to fix it, Raph!" Don shouted back. "I can't help Leo now. He's blind, okay? Why can't you just accept that there's no cure for this?"

"Because I don't want Leo to be blind!" Raph shouted. "He's our brother. He doesn't deserve this!"

"Raph, stop!" Leo commanded. "Don't blame Donnie, okay? There's nothing he can do about this. We just have to go on and accept that this is the way it has to be."

"Oh, so you're just gonna sit there and accept the fact that you won't be able to see again?" retorted Raph.

"What choice do I have?" snapped Leo. "Things are going to have to change, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Leonardo is right," Splinter said gently. "This is the hand we have been dealt, and we must do all we can to support your brother during this time. He has a long road ahead of him and a lot of adjusting to do."

"So, what happens now?" Mikey asked him.

"For now, we must all rest," Splinter replied. "It has been a hard night for all of us. We will discuss this in the morning."

"I'd better bandage those cuts, Leo," Don said. "You'll have to wear the bandages and patches for a little while until they heal."

"Whatever you say, Donnie," Leo answered. His tone was calm, but inside he was scared. How could he adjust to life in the darkness? Sure, they sometimes did blind fighting for practice, but that was just an exercise, and at the end, they were able to turn their masks around and see. Now, he was completely blind and had to adjust to living in darkness. Could he even lead his brothers anymore? How would he be able to patrol the rooftops if he couldn't see? And how could he protect his brothers in battle and watch their backs when he wouldn't be able to see them?

He kept his fear hidden from Don. He had to be strong for his brothers so they could be strong for him. He wasn't going to show them he was afraid. He felt Don put patches on his eyes and felt the tape that Don was using to keep them in place.

"There, that should do it," he said. "Do you need to go to the bathroom before bed?"

"Yeah, that would be a good idea," Leo replied.

"I'll help him," Raph volunteered. He slung Leo's arm over his shoulder and helped his brother to stand up. Then he guided his brother to the bathroom and stepped out until Leo was done then helped him back to the couch.

"You need me to stay here?" he asked Leo.

"No, you can go to bed, Raph," answered Leo. "I'll be fine now."

"Okay," said Raph. "If you need anything, I'm here for you." He squeezed his brother's hand. "We'll help you get through this, bro."

Leo squeezed back and smiled. "I know, Raph," he said. He waited to hear Raph go to his room, but instead, Raph went to the armchair and settled there.

"Raph, I just told you to go to bed," Leo told him.

"Well, I changed my mind," Raph replied. "I'm keepin' an eye on you anyway. You're gonna need help just in case you need anythin' in the night, so that's what I'm here for."

Leo sighed. Raph could be so stubborn sometimes. "Okay, have it your way," he said. "Good night, Raph."

"Good night, Leo," Raph responded. As Leo settled down to sleep, Raph kept his green eyes fixed on his brother. It wasn't fair that this had happened to him. Why did Leo have to be blind? Things were definitely going to be different now, and Raph didn't like it. Damn Shredder for this, Raph thought. He always has to ruin our lives just when it looks like things are goin' good. One thing was for sure: Shredder was going to pay for hurting his brother. He couldn't get away with changing Leo's life like that and hurting him. Raph had a plan, and he was going to carry it out with or without the others. With that thought in mind, the red-clad Turtle drifted off to sleep, ready to do anything to help his brother.

A/N: So, that's the end of that chapter. I'm sure the fight scenes sucked, but I'm not very good at those, so I did the best I could. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up as I'm pretty much just typing this in Word as I go instead of writing it longhand and then typing it as I usually do. Anyway, feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.


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